HOW TO START YOUR BROILER POULTRY FARMING BUSINESS

Have you ever wondered why almost all restaurants in the world offer poultry or chicken meat? From the most famous fast-food chains like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to 7 Star Hotels like the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab in Dubai.  All of them offer a common product bestseller – “foods derived from chicken meat”.

This however implies that broiler poultry farming business, ‘if done right’ would be an all-time very profitable business in the world.   Thousands of success stories have evolved on this business criteria with the owners having sufficient wisdom of how to efficiently raise poultry, best management skills and a better poultry farming business plan.  This article will outline how to start the business, and the broiler poultry farming business plan.

Bill Gates, the richest man in the world wrote an article on his personal blog, “Why I Would Raise Chickens” saying that poultry farming is a viable investment which can give income for the common people.  He regards poultry farming business as an excellent and profitable business. Thousands of chickens are being donated to charity by the Bill Gates Foundation as a means of helping the poor community to earn money by starting poultry farming business.

Broiler chicken farming is a lucrative business, providing income for millions of people, but there are some essential things you need to do before you venture into the business. You have to decide on the size of your poultry farming business project i.e. the number of broiler chickens you want to keep per cycle; location of the poultry farming business e.g. a chicken farm , and your target market. These choices will be affected by the amount of capital you have, and the size of your target  market.  If you do not have a lot of capital, you can always start small and grow your broiler farming business overtime, remember, Rome was not built in a day. You also need to carry out market research (Who are you going to sell the broiler chickens to? At what price?) and write a broiler poultry farming business plan before you venture into the broiler production business.

What you need

LAND, HOUSING AND EQUIPMENT

The kind of housing you need and the size of the land will depend on the size of your poultry farming business project. When choosing the location for your poultry farming business, you have to balance the need for proximity to the market, with the cost of land, labor costs, security, and a good water supply. Your broiler poultry farming business plan should take into account all the costs of running the business.

When you are planning to construct a broiler chicken house, you have to select a site which is well-drained with plenty of natural air movement. Broiler Chickens cannot adjust well to temperature extremes, so it is very essential that the hens be housed, cared and provided with an environment that will enable them to maintain their thermal balance. You need to reduce temperature fluctuations, and this can be achieved by  having the broiler chicken house oriented on an east-west axis to reduce the effect of  direct sunlight on the sidewalls during the hottest part of the day. Good temperature control will enhance feed conversion and growth rate, making your poultry farming business more profitable. 

 Broilers chickens need sufficient space for them to grow well, they should not be crowded, otherwise they may suffocate to death and that will lead to a loss in your poultry farming business.  Each broiler chicken requires about 0.1 square meters of floor space. which translates to 10 hens per square meter. So the size of the poultry house will depend on the number of birds to be reared. Your housing can be barns, chicken runs or hutches, and the cost of construction will depend on the materials used, and the size of the broiler poultry house. You also need poultry farming equipment which includes feeders, drinkers, lighting system and waste disposal system. The cost of equipment should also be take into account in your broiler poultry business plan.

DAY OLD CHICKS

You should purchase your day old chicks from a reliable accredited hatchery or company where the parent stocks are well managed. The success of your broiler poultry farming business will partly depend on the type of day old chicks which you buy. Broiler chicks from different hatcheries vary greatly in terms of quality, and thus will be a determining factor in the success of your poultry farming business venture. You should assess the quality of the chicks by checking whether they are clean, dry, have bright eyes, are active and alert, and should not have any deformity on the body.

Buy your stock from accredited hatcheries which have a comprehensive history of vaccination and health management programme for the breeding flock. If you are new to the poultry farming business, you should enquire from other farmers to hear where they buy their chicks from, as they will usually have experience with various hatcheries. When you have purchased the day old chicks, you need transport them carefully to avoid mortality, as the day old chicks are tender and must be handled with care. The costs of the chicks should be properly accounted for in your broiler chicken business plan.

FEED AND NUTRITION

To be profitable in the poultry farming business, you have to minimize the costs and the mortality rate, as well as optimize the target weight of the broiler chickens. Broiler chicken stock feeds are formulated to provide the protein, energy, vitamins and other nutrients essential for health and efficient growth of the birds.  Just like with day old chicks, the type of broiler poultry feeds you choose will have a great impact on the profitability of your poultry farming business.

Most broiler chickens are sold to the market when they are six weeks old. Each bird will consume about 4 Kg of feed from 0 to 6 weeks. At this age, they will have an average of 2.2 KG to 2.5 KG. The broiler chickens are given a specific type of feed depending on the stage of production. There are 3 types of broiler poultry feeds, which are Starter feeds, Grower feeds, and Finisher feeds. The chickens also require enough water for efficient growth.  You will also need a broiler stress pack/vitamin supplements which  can be used to promote growth of commercial broilers and chicks, and also to combat stress during periods of high temperature, after vaccination and as an aid in recovery from disease to boost performance of the stock. All the feed costs should be included in your poultry farming business plan. 

MANAGEMENT AND LABOUR FOR BROILER POULTRY BUSINESS

The number of farm workers you need will depend on the size of your poultry farming business project. If you are running a small poultry farm business e.g. 100 birds/cycle, you and your family may be enough to take care of the birds, but if you are rearing 2000 birds per cycle, you will need full time employees to manage the poultry farm.  There is need for good technical knowledge of broiler poultry farming rearing techniques for success in the business, and good management skills.

CAPITAL FOR BROILER POULTRY FARMING BUSINESS

The amount of capital required for the broiler poultry business depends on the scale of the project. You can get a loan from the bank, or funding from investors, to use as capital to start your poultry farming business. If you plan to raise capital from investors and a loan from the bank, you need a good poultry farming business plan. If you don’t have access to investors and bank loan, you can use your personal savings and start small, and grow your business overtime. Broiler chickens are very profitable, so if you reinvest the profits you get, you can quickly grow. Even if you are not planning to get a loan, you should still get a broiler poultry farming business plan to guide you in starting and operating the business.

MARKET FOR BROILER CHICKENS

The market for broiler chickens is very huge and is ever increasing. The annual global demand of broiler chickens is 90 million tonnes. That’s a lot! You can supply your broiler chickens to individual households, butchers, schools, restaurants, companies, supermarkets, organizations, events, abattoirs etc. You can sell your broilers as live birds or you can slaughter and freeze them and sell them as dressed chicken. The broiler poultry farming business plan ought to include a proper marketing plan to use in your poultry farming business.

The export market is also very huge! As you grow your broiler production business you will be able to export the meat to other countries.  The largest importer of broiler chickens is the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is a political and economic alliance by six Middle Eastern countries which are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Currently, the top producers of broiler chickens are United States of America, Brazil, China, European Union, India, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia. The largest importers of the meat include the previously mentioned Gulf Cooperation Council, Japan, Mexico, European Union, Iraq, South Africa, China, Hong Kong and Philippines. 

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